AN: This is it guys! The Third Task.
Enjoy!
Chapter 41
June 10th, 1995
Crouch passes in St. Mungo's
By Rita Skeeter
The Daily Prophet expresses his sincere condolences at the death of the head of the Department for International Cooperation, Bartemius Crouch Senior. Mr. Crouch passed away last Sunday in the Janus Thickey Ward, for permanent spell damage, at St. Mungo's.
Mr. Crouch had been last seen during the first Task at Hogwarts. From there on he was represented by his assistant Percival Weasley, in his official role as a judge in the Triwizard tournament as well as his department in the Ministry.
The most likely cause of death was traced back to the severely damaged mind and Crouch's fractured mental condition, ever since he was discovered by none other than Fleur Delacour and Harry Potter. According to our reports, the pair witnessed Mr. Couch stumbling out of the Forbidden Forest, near Hogwarts Castle, while enjoying a romantic walk around the lake.
Dutifully, they instantly accompanied Crouch up to the Castle and placed him in the Care of Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore. Since questioning Crouch on what have occurred to him led to no avail, the professor safely accompanied the man to St. Mungos.
It is yet unknown what led to the unfortunate circumstances, Mr. Crouch was discovered in. We should once again thank Ms. Delacour and Mr. Potter for their services to magical Britain. However very unfortunately that their time spent together came to such an unfortunate end once again.
For further information on Bartemius Crouch Sr., including his In Memoriam, turn to Page 3.
For further information on the blossoming relationship between Fleur Delacour and Harry Potter, including never seen before photos, turn to Page 5
To be honest, Harry had not expected the man to survive long after his mind had been played with for such a long time. Whether or not he actually died a natural way, maybe things were even better this way. Dumbledore had failed to get any information from Crouch and he had witnessed the man's passive attempts at Legillemency.
Fleur and he had repeated most of the incoherent babbling the man had spoken to Dumbledore and left the frowning headmaster soon after. The couple's relationship was a tiny bit strained now since Fleur insisted on knowing what exactly had been going on and what Harry discovered in Crouch's mind.
Once again, Harry had explained to her that he would tell her everything, as soon as she could keep accomplished Leggiliemncns, such as Snape and Dumbledore, out of her mind. The girl had not taken it so well to be that easily dismissed, but admittedly increased her efforts during the sessions in the mind arts.
June 14th, 1995
"That's it, Harry! Now test if they truly disappear after the first one has been killed." Salazar could barely contain his excitement.
Harry nodded. He was very excited himself. For over eight months he had been working on this spell and it was finally almost finished. A few months ago, they had perfected the individual dragonfly that would be conjured. From there on they had started increasing the conjured quantity. The spell now conjured a quantity of roughly 30 - 40 dragonflies, that were spread out like a shield charm approximately three feet from the tip of his wand.
The artificial shield was pretty much a single layer of dragonflies that were pressed together. The gaps that are left were so small that no Unforgivable could somehow pass through them without hitting a member of the group.
Harry had also minimized any potentially complicated wand movements so that now only a simple swirl of the wand was necessary. In addition, he had mastered performing the spell silently. Now, that it was all put together, it was time for the final test run.
He would conjure the dragonflies with his regular wand and quickly switch to the secondary wand to perform the Killing Curse. If everything went according to plan, a single dragonfly would be hit by the curse, but all the others would simultaneously disappear, to the embedded Protean Charm.
He silently cast his spell "Temporalis Anisoptera." and watched as the dragonflies frantically flew throw the air while staying in their shield formation. Then he switched wands.
"Avada Kedavra!" In the last months, Harry had cast the curse relatively often to test his spell. The feeling was almost familiar, at this point. The bright green light of the killing curse erupted from the tip of the secondary wand and struck a single dragonfly. Almost in an instant, the entire swarm disappeared leaving a clear view of the blank stone wall behind it.
"Well done, Harry!" Salazar laughed and cheered him on.
"It works… it finally works… no more dodging Unforgivables. From now on we face them head-on" Harry smiled.
"Just make sure to only use it against a single opponent and only if you know the curse you are about to be hit with is an Unforgivable. Your shield will not do well against a strong piercing or bone-breaking charm." The Founder advised.
Harry took a look at his wristwatch: "Well I still have a couple of hours left in the time turner. I will go up to the ROR and run a couple of simulations."
A few minutes later he was standing in the ROR. Over the last month, Harry and Salazar had analyst the different layouts the maze would create for the third task. So far, they have made models for the layouts M1 until M11. Harry decided to use the latest on for a quick practice drill.
He walked up and down the front of the"
"I need you to show me M1 of the maze layouts... I need you to show me M1 of the maze layouts... I need you to show me M1 of the maze layouts... "
After his third turn, the door appeared and Harry quickly opened it. The inside was a huge room and with the entrance to a maze right at the center. Harry had started practicing for the final task by letting the room create mazes and trying to find the middle and the fake trophy as quickly as possible.
By copying the exact layout of one of the different versions, he was optimally preparing himself to increase his ability to quickly orientate within the maze. In addition, he had asked the room to position dueling dummies at random spots in the passageways of the maze to simulate defeating different creatures.
Harry entered the maze on a jog. If this was truly version M11 then he knew what turns to take to get towards the middle as quickly as possible. Around the second corner, he encountered a dummy. A quick Reducto pulverized the opponent and allowed Harry to continue his run.
Now he needed to take a left and two rights soon after. The layout of the entire maze was in front of his inner eye, allowing him to follow his pathway like a GPS navigation device. Round the second right corner, he encountered another opponent and fired a well-aimed cutting curse, severing the dummy head from its neck. 10 minutes and many turns later, he finally arrived at the center of the maze, where a fake silver trophy rested on a stone table.
He checked his watch. In total it had taken him roughly 15 minutes to complete the entire maze and that was if he did not take a single wrong turn and partially sprinted through it with easy obstacles. The real maze would be different, especially due to the fact that Harry still had no idea what other creatures Hagrid might place inside it.
He remembered having an easy time running through Lupin's obstacle parkour last year. However, this time, the creature would be significantly more dangerous and lethal. Nevertheless, he felt optimally prepared for what lay ahead.
June 24th, 1995
The morning of the third task, Flitwick let Harry know that the Champions would congregate in the chamber of the Hall after breakfast, to meet their families. Harry was looking forward to seeing Sirius again and quickly finished his breakfast.
"Hey, Pub!" The man greeted him and embraced him in a strong hug as Harry entered the chamber.
"It's good to see you, Sirius," Harry replied sincerely.
Harry survived the chamber. Over the corner, Fleur's parents and sister were waiting for their daughter to enter. Her little sister shot Harry a wink and Harry grinned back, making the small Veela blush furiously.
At the other side of the room, Cedric was hugging his parents. Harry noticed that his father was casting angry glares at him and Sirius. What was the man's issue?
"How do you feel about a stroll around the castle? We could catch up properly and you can tell me what you plan on doing with 1000 Galleons prize money." Sirius laughed.
Unfortunately, they had been overheard by Amos Diggory: "You seem to be very certain of your godson's victory, Black."
"Well, he is in the first place and perhaps the most brilliant champion this tournament has ever seen… so yeah, I am quite certain," Sirius replied neutrally.
"That boy cheated his way through the tournament. Cedric here told me that Potter had not once been surprised at any task they had to face and always seemed to know how to handle it best. I'd bet half my vault that you have been sneaking him tips and advice the entire time to give him an unfair advantage." Diggory sneered.
Meanwhile, the Delacour's had caught up to the heated argument between the two men. Sebastian was simply shaking his head at the man's wild accusations, but Fleur looked about ready to interfere.
Harry was quicker than her: "You son is among the best students this castle has to offer, Mr. Diggory. I don't doubt he is a decent Hufflepuff and talented in his own way. However, this tournament is for the brightest and most powerful students, Europe has to offer. I'm afraid your son does not belong to that group."
"Your arrogance knows no limit, Potter." Cedric Diggory spits back. "I would have dealt with the task just fine if it wasn't for you entering this tournament in the first place."
Harry laughed: "How does me entering change the way you failed to overcome your dragon and secure the golden egg?"
"I know that the two of you… "He pointed accusingly at Fleur and Harry. "... knew about the first task. You were not even slightly surprised to see a fucking miniature dragon in that bag."
"Are you saying my daughter is cheating?" Sebastian Delacour took a couple of steps forwards and asked in a dangerous tone.
Diggory seemed about to respond, but his father pulled his shoulder quickly and shook his head. Without another word, the Diggorys left the chamber. Sirius turned to the Delacours:
"It's good to see you, Madame and Monsieur Delacour. I wish your daughter the best of luck for tonight." Sirius approached the family diplomatically.
"Thank you, Monsieur Black, and good luck to you, too, Mr. Potter," Sebastian replied, with a very rare smile on his lips.
Sirius and Harry took their leave to take a stroll outside. Walking down to the Quidditch pitch, the older man asked: "How are you feeling about tonight? Are you to get this finally over with?"
Harry nodded: "I have prepared very hard for this and spent countless hours practicing. I just hope I will be able to detect whatever trap Voldemort has prepared for me."
"What about you and your firebird? How will she deal with it in case you actually win this thing?"
"Fleur might be a bit disappointed at first, but she would not hold it against me, nor would I if for some reason she manages to beat me to the cup."
"What about the summer? Do you guys have any plans yet?"
I gleam appeared in Harry's eyes: "I want to go to France and visit her… see the place she grew up in, visit Beauxbaton… travel the country with her… for once, I would like a peaceful summer."
"You get that same goofy grin on your face when you talk about it, as James did whenever he mentioned Lily. You really like her, don't you?"
Harry could only smile contently: "More than I would have ever thought."
"Make sure you don't lose her then, Harry. If you find something special, as you have, don't let it slip through your fingers…"
"Have you ever been in love, Sirius?" Harry asked curiously.
A sad expression overcame Sirius' entire demeanor: "You know I was not the guys for a relationship during school, Harry. But there was one girl, who was different even back then… A year after Hogwarts we started dating… a few more weeks and I would have probably proposed to her."
"What happened to her?" Harry inquired.
"Voldemort killed her and her entire family… They did not stand a chance."
The two wizards continued their walk in silence for a couple of minutes:
"I will get him, Sirius… one day, I will make him pay for all of it," Harry vowed with determination.
"See that you do, Harry. But don't forget living life until then… you are young and you should think about getting into your hot girlfriend's knickers instead of how to kill some Dark Lord…"
"Did you just call my girlfriend hot, Padfoot?" Harry grinned.
"I do have eyes, Pup… Even after Azkaban."
"Use them tonight, okay? I need you to keep an eye on Moody for me tonight. Follow him if you have to." Harry explained.
"Any specific reason for that?"
"It's just a hunch… But make sure to be prepared for any eventualities."
The two finished their stroll around the lake and returned to the castle for some lunch. Harry and Sirius decided to sneak into the kitchen and let Dobby prepare them something. The afternoon was spent goofing around the castle and making some last-minute preparation. Then it was already time for Harry to change into his attire for the third task.
"Good luck, Harry." Salazar wished his heir: "And make sure to come back to me after it's all over. Get that bloody cup in the name of Slytherin."
Harry chuckled as he looked at his reflection in the mirror. His black form-fitting robes, which he had worn to the first task, had been adjusted and fitted well now. Due to the athletic aspects of the task, he decided to wear some muggle trainers. He had left the map with Sirius and hid his Cloak within his robes as usual. It was time to finish this:
He met Sirius once more in the Great Hall and they walked down onto the Quidditch field, which was now completely unrecognizable. A twenty-foot-high hedge ran all the way around the edge of it. There was a gap right in front of them: the entrance to the vast maze. The passage beyond it looked dark and creepy. Five minutes later, the stands had begun to fill; the air was full of excited voices and the rumbling of feet as the hundreds of students filed into their seats.
The sky was a deep, clear blue now, and the first stars were starting to appear. Hagrid, Professor Moody, Professor McGonagall, and Professor Flitwick came walking into the stadium and approached Bagman and the champions. They were wearing large, red, luminous stars on their hats, all except Hagrid, who had his on the back of his moleskin vest.
"We are going to be patrolling the outside of the maze," said Professor McGonagall to the champions. "If you get into difficulty, and wish to be rescued, send red sparks into the air, and one of us will come and get you, do you understand?" The champions nodded. "Off you go, then!" said Bagman brightly to the four patrollers.
"Good luck, Harry," Fleur whispered, as they gave each other a tight hug.
"I will share the prize money with you and buy you lots of sweets." Harry grinned and kissed the blond girl before she could fully understand what he had said.
Bagman now pointed his wand at his throat, muttered, "Sonorus," and his magically magnified voice echoed into the stands. "Ladies and gentlemen, the third and final task of the Triwizard Tournament is about to begin! Let me remind you how the points currently stand!
In first place, with 109 points — Mr. Harry Potter, of Hogwarts School, also representing… well… himself!" The cheers and applause sent birds from the Forbidden Forest fluttering into the darkening sky.
"In second place, with102 — Miss Fleur Delacour, of Beauxbatons Academy" More applause.
"And in third place — Mr. Viktor Krum, of Durmstrang Institute!"
Krum glared at Harry and gave him an overconfident grin. Harry just smiled back coldly. He had not forgotten the boy's attempt at almost killing Fleur. If he run into him in the maze tonight, he would kill him.
"Finally in fourth place — Mr. Cedric Diggory, of Hogwarts School!"
There was some polite applause for Diggory, however, most spectators knew that he would not be an actual contender for the cup tonight.
"So... on my whistle, Harry," said Bagman. "Three — two — one —" He gave a short blast on his whistle, and Harry hurried forward into the maze.
He was ready and felt the adrenaline pumping in his veins.
The first turns were the most important. They would hint at which layout of the maze he was dealing with. Harry cast a silent Lumos and used the spell Fleur had taught him, to have illuminating balls of light surrounding him at any point in time and to light the way for him.
Exactly after a minute and the first three turns, he heard the whistle behind him again. Fleur was on her way. Harry grinned at the thought of his girlfriend in her cute blue uniform, turned around a corner, and stood right in front of one of Hagrid's Blast-Ended Skrewts.
He realized two things rather quickly: First, they had grown... a lot... The one in front of him reached perhaps three meters in length and was over a meter tall. Second, they were very aggressive and this one was about to impale him with its stinger.
Harry dodged the first attack from the ugly creature's stinger by rolling to the side. Unfortunately, the narrow pathway of the maze put him at a disadvantage... He could not fully use his mobility. Harry needed to be more aggressive. Therefore, when the creature attacked again, he rolled underneath its body, into its blind spot. The Skrewts were well protected from each side, due to their armor and tough skin. However, their underside was vulnerable.
While still rolling underneath it, Harry cast a strong cutting curse upwards and connected with the beast's torso. He heard a painful shriek coming from above and barely made it out from underneath the creature before it collapsed. Without turning around, Harry continued.
A third, the whistle sounded through the early night. Krum was in the game now. Harry kept up his light jog and turned around the next corner. At first, he did not spot anything, but then he saw a flash of silver hair lying in a bloody pool on the grounds in front of him.
He caught his breath, at the sight that had haunted his dreams, ever since the visions he endured during his last ritual.
"Fleur!" Harry croaked.
Her deep blue eyes stared motionless and empty into the night. Her skin seemed paler than ever before... a trail of blood was trickling from her lips...
But this couldn't be... Fleur was still far behind him. Only one magical creature could display his greatest fear so detailed. Nothing about the sight in front of him was even remotely funny. Harry could not even think about what to transfigure the Boggart into, by using the appropriate spell.
Instead, the sight of his biggest fear flipped a switch somewhere within Harry, and with a roar, he released a bright stream of Fiendfyre and killed the boggart in an instant. The illusion of Fleur vanished... all that was left was the smell of burned grass and hedges. Pulling himself together once again, he continued down the path ahead of him.
According to the pattern of pathways he just encountered, he was either in the layouts M5 or M7 of the maze. If the next turn was a left, he would know for sure, and things would get easier. However, the triumphant smile that appeared on his face at the last turn was washed away by a scream that almost froze Harry's insides… this had been no illusion...
"FLEUR!" Harry yelled, frantically trying to make out, where the scream stem from.
"Crucio!" He heard a thick foreign accent. Another scream shattered the silence and Harry instantly turned towards its direction. It was close...
"Fleur!" Harry yelled again, but the response was only a sobbing from the other side of the hedge. The sounds of his girlfriend's painful screams and sobs were too much for Harry and rage took over, once again. With a wave of his wand and another successful attempt at conjuring the cursed flames, he burned a hole through the hedge ahead of him and quickly crawled through while the thorns tore and ripped at his clothes and skin.
Harry quickly got back on his feet on the other side and hurried towards the corner where he had first heard the scream. A low sobbing indicated that Fleur was still alive. Harry sprinted around the corner, right to the sight of an expressionless, empty-eyed Krum. The Bulgarian pointed his wand at Fleur, who lay on the grounds beneath him, her entire body spasming. Krum did not even acknowledge his presence. Instead, the tip of the Bulgarian wand started glowing a bright green... a very familiar bright green.
Harry could swear that his wand moved on its own. Without any second thought, he jabbed it forwards quickly. The piercing hex that left its tip was perhaps the strongest he had ever cast. Before Krum could utter another syllable, it connected with his chest and tore a hole the size of a Bludger right through it. Still, the Bulgarian was thrown backward by the sheer force of the spells. He was instantly dead.
Harry panted heavily and kneed beside Fleur. Her eyes were flickering, but she did not respond to any stimuli. The was no visible physical damage besides a couple of scratches on her arms and face, but Harry knew that the internal damage by the Cruciatus curse might be severe. What should he do now? He was torn between remaining at her side and finishing the task. Diggory was still in the game and while not the biggest threat, he could make it to the Cup before Harry.
Fleur would usually be his priority, but there was nothing he could do for her right now, she needed a professional healer, not a boyfriend that was still on edge and running high on adrenaline. But what about Krum? Would anyone blame Fleur for it? Probably not... they would test her wand and see that she did not cast any curses that could have dealt that damage. Also, Madam Pomfrey would likely instantly detect the after-effects of the torture curse on her. Harry would even be willing to supply a memory after this was all over, to prove he acted in self-defense and defense of Fleur.
Shooting red sparks high into the air, Harry decided to conjure a strong protective dome around the unconscious Fleur and let the professors recover her. He needed but a second to orientate himself before he continued his way toward the center of the maze.
After a couple more turns, he ran down a long, straight path and he saw movement once again as his beam of wand light hit an extraordinary creature, that he recognized instantly. The Sphinx did not seem aggressive yet. She was not crouching as if to spring, but pacing from side to side of the path, blocking his progress. Then she spoke, in a deep, hoarse voice.
"You are very near your goal. The quickest way is past me."
"Tell me what I need to do."
The sphinx sat down upon her hind legs, in the very middle of the path, and recited:
"You only need to answer my riddle, young wizard."
"First think of the person who lives in disguise, Who deals in secrets and tells naught but lies.
Next, tell me what's always the last thing to mend, The middle of middle and end of the end?
And finally, give me the sound often heard During the search for a hard-to-find word.
Now string them together, and answer me this, Which creature would you be unwilling to kiss?"
Harry paid close attention to each line; his mind started working out the clues to the first line while already listening to the ones that followed. Riddles were nothing new to him. For over three years he answered them whenever entering the Ravenclaw tower. It only took Harry a minute to come up with the answer:
"A spider... You would be unwilling to kiss a spider." Harry answered quickly.
The sphinx smiled more broadly. She got up, stretched her front legs, and then moved aside for him to pass. Harry thanked the creature and continued down the dark path. According to the layout of the maze, he carried in front of his inner eye, it was only a couple more turns until he was at the center. Two minutes later he turned around what should be the last corner.
Indeed, the Triwizard Cup was gleaming on a plinth a hundred yards away. Suddenly a dark figure hurtled out onto the path in front of him. Diggory had caught up with him. He was sprinting as fast as he could toward the cup.
The boy was a fool... Did he really think, Harry would let it come down to some muggle sprinting raze? He was a wizard, after all... Harry fired a leg locker curse at the older boy and grimaced as he fell face-first to the ground. The older boy yelled upon impact... that would probably be a broken nose. Harry jogged past him, edging closer towards the cup. Then Harry saw something immense over a hedge to his left, moving quickly along a path that intersected with his own.
A giant spider, an Acromantula, stepped into his path and began to bear down upon him. Harry might not be as heavily impacted by the spider's poison, but he would still prefer not to let the hairy legs and sharp fangs get anywhere near him. Harry dodged its first attack and managed to cut off one of its eight legs with a well-aimed cutting curse. The spider shrieked in pain; it was already a bit slower now. Suddenly, Harry felt a spell being fired at him from behind him. His sensitivity for magic that's cast around him, allowed him to recognize the incoming stunner.
Apparently, Diggory did not have enough yet. The older boy had managed to dispel the leg locker curse on his feet and started firing spells at Harry. The younger wizard erected a strong shield behind him and focused his attention on the bigger threat of the giant spider ahead of him. Two more cutting curses later, the spider was missing the majority of legs on one side and could barely move itself any further.
Not a single spell had struck Harry in his back so far, but he felt his shield getting weaker. Annoyed at having to divide his attention, Harry spun around, batted Diggory's incoming stunner to the side, and fired a bone breaker at the boy's shoulder. Diggory may be a decent student, but the Prefect practically had no dueling experience and it really showed. Harry barely even had to try and soon the first couple of curses connected. Diggory was now sporting a broken wand arm and a few deep gashes along his chest and shoulder. That should keep him occupied for some time… There was no need to kill the boy.
He turned back to the spider, which was hoisting its heavy body forward, feet by feet, by simply pulling itself with its long remaining legs. Harry carefully aimed for the cluster of eyes around its head and fired a powerful Bombarda Maxima. The majority of eyes busted open as the spell struck the spider's head. The Acromantula almost instantly dropped down to the bloodied grounds, its remaining legs curling inwards towards the heavy furry body.
Harry panted heavily and walked over its corpse to the glowing cup that still stood still on the ground in the center of the maze, witnessing the entire fight. This was it. This was the moment he had been fighting for, for the last eight months. Because of this stupid cup, he battled a dragon, Gryndelows, and a few other beasts just now in the maze.
But could this really be it? Did Voldemort's grand scheme somehow fail? Harry half expected the imposter Moody to appear behind one of the hedges and drag him to his master. Why did the man go through all that work, in the first place? Was the actual, physical cup somehow part of their plan? His thoughts were interrupted by a very annoying voice.
"You don't deserve that cup, Potter!" Diggory spit. His shoulder seemed dislocated, and the entire wand arm hung from his side. He was bleeding from multiple wounds and desperately tried to crawl towards Harry.
"Actually, I think, I do." Harry grinned. The smooth surface of the shimmering cup reflected his face and Harry saw his own determination. All thoughts of potential further traps had been washed away by the glory that stood before him... he only needed to grab it.
Diggory let out a few very naughty curses, but without a wand in his hand, nothing happened. Harry ignored the older boy. It was time to finish this tournament. Without looking back, he gripped the handle...
The boy vanished in a whirlwind of colors. A second later he slammed on the ground and barely managed to keep standing. He had expected the cup to be a Portkey and take him back to the front of the maze and spectators, not wherever he was now.
Before he understood what was going on, he was engulfed in spells that were fired at him from what felt like multiple directions. He dodged the first but had no chance at avoiding the stunner that caught him in his back. Everything went dark around him, as he dropped to the grounds.